Prosecutors continue to build case in assault trial

By Debra Friedman, STAFF WRITER

Published 9:51 pm, Tuesday, January 26, 2010

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Left to right, Angelo Ciullo, 25, and his father, Pasquale Ciullo, 55, both of Byram, are shown here in Greenwich police department photos. Both men are on trial for an incident which occurred on July 4, 2007 at their Byram Shore Road home involving a property dispute with day laborers who were working for a neighbor of the Ciullo's. Pasquale Ciullo is on trial for first-degree assault, three counts of unlawful restraint and one of weapons in a motor vehicle. Angelo Ciullo is on trial for two counts of unlawful restraint and one count of weapons in a motor vehicle. less

Left to right, Angelo Ciullo, 25, and his father, Pasquale Ciullo, 55, both of Byram, are shown here in Greenwich police department photos. Both men are on trial for an incident which occurred on July 4, 2007 ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

Prosecutors continue to build case in assault trial

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STAMFORD -- The son of a Byram woman who claims she was beaten with a shovel during a July 2007 assault took the stand Tuesday to describe the injuries his mother sustained in the alleged attack during the second week of a criminal trial in state Superior Court.

Michael Benjamin, 26, told the court he was in New York when police called him to inform him that his mother, Rose Pinchuk, 63, was seriously injured. Benjamin, who lives with his mother, said he joined his mother a short time later at Greenwich Hospital where doctors treated a considerable laceration on her hand and bruises on her legs.

"She was in agony," said Benjamin, describing how Pinchuk could hardly walk. "We had to use a wheelchair."

A Byram father and son are charged with numerous felonies for the incident, which occurred on July 4, 2009, on Byram Shore Road. Pasquale Ciullo, 55, of 1 Byram Dock St., is accused of beating Pinchuk with a shovel during a dispute over the property line between a home he owned at 172 Byram Shore Road and Pinchuk's property at 174 Byram Shore Road. Angelo Ciullo, 25, is accused of threatening two day laborers with guns while his father allegedly attacked Pinchuk.

Senior Assistant State's Attorney James Bernardi attempted Tuesday to ask Benjamin about the extent of his mother's injuries, but a judge denied the line of questioning after an objection from the defense. The Ciullos' defense attorneys argued Benjamin should not be permitted to discuss medical treatment or his mother's diagnosis because he is not a doctor.

Following his testimony, the first two Greenwich police officers to find Pinchuk at the scene of the alleged attack testified about their accounts of what happened.

Officer Ernest Mulhern was the first to get to Byram Shore Drive and said he was informed by a neighbor that Pinchuk was behind a house. Mulhern said he could hear Pinchuk screaming from afar.

"I shuffled down the street to get to the screaming lady," Mulhern said.

"What did you see behind the house?" asked Bernardi.

"I observed the victim lying down on the ground," said Mulhern, who noted that he was familiar with Pinchuk and her home. "She was screaming and had a laceration to her arm."

On cross-examination, attorney Edward Gavin, the lawyer for Pasquale Ciullo, asked Mulhern how he knew Pinchuk.

"I had been to this residence a couple of times in the past," said Mulhern in response. "There had been a couple of neighbor disputes and I had a chance to meet with her and discuss it."

Officer Philip Carriero testified about the medical aid he rendered to Pinchuk when he arrived to back up Mulhern.

"When you got back there, did you observe anything?" asked Bernardi.

"She was seated on the ground, bleeding from her left hand," said Carriero. "She was hysterical and crying."

Carriero said Pinchuk complained of pain in her legs and hand. He also received a statement about what happened during the altercation while she was at the hospital, but the contents were not released to the jury Tuesday.

Gavin asked both Carriero and Mulhern if they noticed a blood trail in the driveway leading up to the backyard where Pinchuk was found. Both said they did not notice anything. Pinchuk claims she was hit with the shovel numerous times while running up the driveway. Blood was only found on the back steps of 178 Byram Shore Road.

During the first week of the trial, two day laborers who are also alleged victims in the crime testified, as well as Pinchuk and several police officers. The state will continue to call more witnesses this week before the defense begins presenting its case to nine jurors.

Pasquale Ciullo is charged with first-degree assault, three counts of unlawful restraint and one count of weapons in a motor vehicle in the incident. Angelo Ciullo is charged with two counts of unlawful restraint and one count of weapons in a motor vehicle. Both could face jail time if convicted.